Antibiotics also encourage other bacteria in our gut to develop resistance to antibiotics by changing their genetic makeup. Any antibiotics we take will also kill many of our normal bacterial flora in the gut. Everyone can help by not using antibiotics for the treatment of uncomplicated infections. The problems of antibiotic resistance are growing. There are plenty of over-the-counter medicines which are very effective in managing the symptoms of these illnesses and can reduce headache, muscle soreness, fever and sore throats. Most of the infections that generate lots of phlegm and snot are viral illnesses and will get better on their own although you can expect to feel pretty poorly for a few weeks. It’s a prevailing myth that anyone with green phlegm or snot needs a course of antibiotics to get better. In most healthy people, phlegm or snot production with or without a cough will stop as your cold or flu-like illness clears up, although it may take up to 3 to 4 weeks.ĭr Cliodna McNulty, head of PHE’s primary care unit said: Coloured phlegm or snot does not mean you need antibiotics. Phlegm therefore comes in a range of colours from white to mustard-yellow to varying shades of green. Some white blood cells contain a green substance (a protein) so if more of these cells are present the greener your phlegm or snot will be. White blood cells are produced by the body to attack any foreign materials the body does not recognise such as pollutants, dirt, pollen or microbes, and are carried in your phlegm and snot. Research by PHE’s Primary Care Unit has found that 40% of the general public believed that antibiotics would help a cough with green phlegm get better more quickly rather than clear phlegm (6%). This advice is issued on European Antibiotics Awareness Day (18 November) which aims to raise awareness of the risks associated with the inappropriate use of antibiotics and how to use them responsibly. Having green phlegm or snot is not always a sign of a bacterial infection that will require antibiotics to get better, says Public Health England ( PHE) and the Royal College of General Practitioners ( RCGP).
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